1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a technology capable of controlling a peripheral device, such as a printer, via a network.
2. Description of the Related Art
Recently, network-based peripheral devices, such as printers, copiers, facsimiles, scanners, digital cameras, and image processing apparatuses, including the composite function of these devices, have become widespread as network infrastructure has been improved. With the widespread use of network-based peripheral devices, third parties, which have no relation to a manufacturer of the peripheral device, distributes (sells) to users an application which controls these network-based peripheral devices and monitors the status of these network-based peripheral devices.
For example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 09-152946 discloses an information processing apparatus including an application (a status monitor) that displays ink information of a printer (peripheral device) connected to the information processing apparatus via a network in real time.
Also, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 08-118675 (corresponding to U.S. Pat. No. 6,771,378), for example, discloses an information processing apparatus and method in which a printer (peripheral device) detects a remaining ink level, converts it to a control command, and transmits the control command to the information processing apparatus, and the information processing apparatus displays the remaining ink level.
In the above-described known examples, an application (status monitor) can hold resources, such as bitmaps of images about ink, and can display the shape, color, size, arrangement direction, order of the arrangement, and a remaining ink level of an ink tank, using accurate and visually realistic graphics. However, to provide such a display, the application needs to know the shape, color, size, arrangement direction, order of the arrangement, and a remaining ink level of an ink tank in advance and needs to hold resources such as bitmaps of images for displaying amounts of remaining ink in a plurality of stages in advance. As used herein, the term “realistic graphics” refers to graphics in which the shape of a replaceable ink tank and a color of the ink are displayed in a visually realistic manner by using accurate and high-fidelity images even when the shape of a replaceable ink tank and a color of the ink is different for different vendors or different models or even when a color of the ink (e.g., cyan) is slightly different for different vendors.
A vendor of a printer can easily obtain such printer information required for an application (e.g., status monitor) and the application can use the information to control the printer. Accordingly, the vendor can provide an application having the above-described specification for a printer whose information required for the specification can be obtained. However, even for the application of the printer vendor, when the application supports a new printer, the vendor needs to obtain the above-described required information again and needs to update the application on the basis of the obtained information.
Additionally, in the above-described known examples, when a third party cannot acquire the above-described required information from a printer vendor, an application from the third party cannot hold the required information. Although the application can display a character string indicating a remaining ink level by using the Bidi Communications Schema of Windows® XP, which is described below, the application cannot display the shape, color, size, arrangement direction, the remaining ink level of an ink tank in detail using accurate and visually realistic graphics. Furthermore, even if the application can display such information, the application must limit the target printers, which is a problem.
Still furthermore, in the above-described known examples, by obtaining the above-described information to control the application, the shape, color, size, arrangement direction, order of the arrangement, and remaining ink level of an ink tank can be displayed in detail using accurate and visually realistic graphics. However, since the application uses resources, such as bitmaps of images about ink, the information is displayed two dimensionally. If the information is displayed three dimensionally, the process of the application becomes significantly complicated, and therefore, it is difficult to realize the three-dimensional display.